Illuminating means for player pianos and the like



Oct. s, 1925. 1,556,419

, V. CECI ILLUMINATING mums` von PLAYER PIANos AND THE LIKE Filed Aug. e, 1924 \V www@ Patented Get. 6, 1925.

UNITED STATES- PATENT OFFICEL vINcEN'r cEcI, or NEW Yoan/N. Y., assIGNon-To SCHMIDT-DAUEEE C0., No., 0F

NEW YORK, N. Y., A ccaPoEA'rIoN or NEW YORK.

ILLUMINATING MEANS FOR PLAYER AIPIANOS AND THE LIKE.

VApplication' led August 8, 1924. Serial No.' 730,814.

To all 'whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, VINCENT CECI, a. citi,- Zen of the United States, and a resident. of the borough of Queens, Queens County, cit;7 and State of New York, have invented an Improvement in Illuminating Means for Player Pianos and the like, of which the following is a specification.v f'

My present invention relates to control means for electrical. adjuncts or accessories, such. as illuminating means for mechanical musical instruments, especially music-roll operated mechanical musical instruments, such as' player pianos and the like," and aims to provide means of the general character specified above which are' simple in construction, easy, compact and economical to install with little alteration in the construction and arrangement of parts of the instruments to which the means of the present invention are applied,`which are certain and safe in operation, and in which the electrical appliance, such as an electric lamp l'or illuminating a music well or other compartment yin which' the music roll may be positioned, shall be automatically controlled by the insertion and removal of the music roll, the insertion of the music roll acting to turn lon or render operative the electric lamp or other electrical appliance, and the removal of the music roll acting to turn ofi' or render inoperative. the electric lamp or other electrical appliance, or vice versa, depending upon the particular electrical appliance employed .and the results desired to be obtained. l'

In the accompanying specification I shall describe, and in the annexed drawing show, one illustrative embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention. It is, however, to be clearly understood that my invention is not limited to the specific form thereof herein shown and described for purposes of example merely. j

Referring' to the drawing, wherein I rhave illustrated the aforesaid illustrative embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention: v

Fig. 1 is a view in front elevation, partly in section and partly broken away, showing the aforesaid illustrative embodiment ofthe device of the present invention, with the music roll removed and the switch. controlling the lamp for illuminating the music well or like compartment in l.which the music roll is normally positioned, in the open or off position; and y Fig. 2 isa detailed view, on an enlarged scale, of the switch-operating mechanism ofV Fig. 1 lwith the music rollin place to be played upon and with the switch in closed or on position.

` Referring now lmore v particularly .to the aforesaidy illustrative embodiment of the present invention and especially to the drawing illustrating the same, 10 indicates a music well or like compartment of a player piano or other mechanical musical instrument adapted to be operated by a music roll or the like, 'here generally indicated by reference character I). The music well or like compartment 10, which is adapted to receive theplayer ormusic roll 1-1, is defined by means of a frame 12 which generally has the form shown moreclearly in Fig. lof the drawing.

and14v and the bottom portion 15, is substantially rectangular, while the upper member.

16 is arcuate 'or rounded.

Extending into thefupper or music roll `compartment 17 of the well 10 is'the nonreciprocable spindle 18 generally connected toa portion ofthe driving mechanism for the music roll 11. Likewise extending into the upperportion 1710i the well 10 is the reciprocable spindle 19 slidably mounted in a vdefining' below it the space 23 for the winding spool 24 mounted in the usual manner and-driven by aportion of the driving mechanism of the player piano orvlike music-roll operated. mechanical musical. instrument.

At 25 I have indicated the electrical adjunct or accessory adapted to loe controlled and operated by means of the present invention, and comprising in this case an electric lamp extending into the upper portion 17 ofthe rmusic well 10 adjacent the top of the same.` The lamp 25 is so positioned that it will throw the required degree of illumination .upon the music roll 11 when the same ris being played, especially where suchmusic roll is of the word variety, that is, of the type'where the words of the song being played by the player piano or other mechanical musical instrument are printedv on the roll synchronously with the As shown, the lower portion of the frame 12, defined by the side members y13v rlesa-41a msV music cut therein, so that persons may sing,` the words while the instrument plays an accompaniment. lt will bev noted that the arcuate forni of the upper member 16 of the frame 12 permits the electric lamp or its equivalent to be positioned so as to effectively illuminate the roll 10 but without in any way interfering with the operation of `the roll or cutting into the space required for its insertion and removal.

In order that the electric lamp 25 may give the desired lighting effect and at the saine time be artistically pleasing, l may provide theinner surface 16 of the arcuate member 16 with an arcuate reflector and may also provide vthe electric lamp 25 with a translucent or transparent arcuate shade 27 of any desired color or quality of glass or other vitreous or like substance, in order to give a light which is at once suitable for the desired purpose and pleasing to the eye. The lamp 25 is screwed into a socket 28 mounted on an insulating or other suitable base 29 carried by the arcuate wall 16 ofthe frame 12. 30 and 31 indicate the leads or connectors passingfrom the lamp contacts 30 and 31 to the snap switch -or like electrical controlling means, here generally indicated reference character and shortly to be described in greater detail herein.

The switch 32 is preferably of the twoway snap type, that is, both opening` and closing` by a snap action. Preferably the operation of the` switch 32, into and out of closed position, is effected by the reciprocating' movement of a switch-operating member, here generally indicated at reference character 33. rlhe switch itself may be carried by the arm or bracket attached, as by means of the screws or other fastening' members 35, to a block 36 carried b v the outer face 13 of the side 13 of the trame 12. The contacts 30 and 31 are connected to the switch 32 in the manner which will be well known to those sliilled in the art to which the presentV invention relates. lt will also be noted that the switch-operating' member 33 is provided with the Snitch-operating spindle 33, whereby vtle reciprocation of the switch-oir eratirgrl member 33 throughA the spindle 33 will. in one direct-ion of its movement, to the left in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing, close the switch. and in the other direction of its movement, `to the rightin Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing, open the switch.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. 2 of the drawing', the reciprocable spindle 19 is provided at its inner end, which is the end which extends into the music well 10, with the roll-engaging portion 35 and at its other end, comprising a portion 36 of reduced cross-section, with the enlarged button-shaped projection 37 adapted to engage the inner end 33 of the switch-operating,` member 33 for the operation of the switch Mounted within the bearing or hous ing 29, which preferably has the form shown more clearly in Fig. 2 of the drawing, is a compression spring 33 which bears at one end against the inner end 39 of the housing' 2O and at its other end against the inner end 10 of' that portion of the spindle 19 which is of the larger cross-sectionlt will thus be noted that the coi'iigression sprinfbi tends to maintain the reciprocable spindle 19 in forward position extending as far as possible into the music well 10.

rllhe inner movement of the reciprocable spindle 19 is determined by the engagement of the enlarged or button-shaped inner end 37 of the portion 36 of reduced crosssectional area with the inner arm 11 of the connecting' member 42, the upper arm i3 of whicu is firedly attached to the operating; member of the switch 32. For this purpose the inner portion 36 of reduced crosssectional area passes through the opening il in the inner arm Ll1 of the cor-ruecting` member 42. ln order to render the operation of the switch and its associated parts as noiseless as possible, l prefer to provide the inner face 37 ofthe enlarged portion 37 with a strip of felt or like sound-deadening mat'erial 45, and the outer face 37 of the enlarged portion 37 with a strip of felt 46.

In order to provide for the proper operation of the switch in the control of the electric lamp 25 or other electrical accessory, .it is necessary to so space and arrange the various members 36, 42 and 33, that upon the insertion of a music roll 11 so that the inner end 11 will engage the non-reciprocable spindle 13 and the outer end 11 will engage the inner end of the reciproc-able spindle 19, the movement of the spindle 19 to the left in Figs. 1 and`2 of the drawing'` necessitated by the insertion of the music roll 11., will cause the inner end 36 of the spindle 19 and' the enlarged member 37 carried thereby to the switch-'operating member 33 to close the switch. Upon the insertion of the roll, as will be clear to those skilled in the art to which the present invention relates, there will be a slight reverse movement of the spindle 19, under the action of the compression spring' 38, to enable the same to enter the orifice with which the outer end 11 of the music roll 11 is generally provided. There should, accordingly, be enough lost motion or free play between the reciprocable spindle 19 and the connecting member A12.. which 'latter is i'iXedly attached to the switch-operating' member 33, to permit this reverse travel of the spindle 19 without causing the spindle on its reverse movement to operate the connecting" member 12 to open the switch again. It is only when the music roll 11 is removed that the spindlel 19 lill Cil

completes this reverse" movement to fthe Y right, as shown in Figs. landy 2 of the drawplace under the action of the compression spring 38.

It will thus be seen that the insertion of the roll acts in a simple, direct and certain manner to close the switch to turn on the illuminating ldevice 25, thus lighting upv the music roll compartment while the roll is being played, whilethe removal of the roll causes the illuminating means to be turned off when its use 'is no longer required. This action takes placeautomatically and f by means which are simple in construction, easy, compact and economical to install, and certain and safe inoperation.` It may here be stated thatl in place of the usual lighting circuit, storage or even primary batteries may be used as the source of power for energizing the'lamp or other electrical appliance arranged in accordance with the principles of the present invention.V

lVhat I claim as my invention is:

l. In a .music-roll operatedmechanical Y musical instrument, such as a player-piano or the like, a roll-receiving compartment, a roll-supporting spindle reciprocably'mounu ed with its outer end extending into said compartment, an electric switch provided with an operating member adapte-dto be actuated by saidspindle, and spring-means normally acting to maintain said spindle inl `torwa'rd position and'said switch in open position. `f`

"2. In `a musicroll operated Ymechanical musical instrument, such as a player-piano or the like, a roll-receiving compartment, a

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roll-supporting -spindle reciprocably mounted with its outer end eXtendinginto said compartment,v anl electric' switch 'provided with an operating member adapted to be actuated by'said spindle, means connecting said spindle and said operating member, and spring `means normally acting to maintain said Aspindle andv saidr4 connectingv means inV forward position and saidjswitch in open position. I z.,

3. In a music-roll operated mechanical musical instrument, such as a player-piano or the like, a roll-receiving compartmeniaa roll-supporting spindle reciprocably mounted with itsouter end extending into said compartment, an elect-ric 'switch provided with an operating member adapted to be actuated by said spindle, and spring means normally acting to rmaintain said spindle in forwardposition and said switch in open position, saidv spindley beingadapted, upon the insertion of a music roll, to actuate said operating member to bring saidswitch into closed position.

4. In a music-roll operated mechanical musical instrument, such as a player-piano vor the like, a roll-receiving compartment, a roll-supportlng spindle reciprocably mounted withv its outer end extending into vsaid compartment, an electric switch provided with .an operating member adapted to be actuated by said spindle, means connecting said spindle and said operating member, n

and spring means normally acting to maintain saidspindle and said connecting` means and a switch-engaging inner end, an elec-l tric switch having an operatingmember adapted to be engaged byl the inner` end of said spindle, and means normally tending.

to maintain the inner end of saidsspindle in non-engaging position with respect toI said switch-operating member. f Y

6. In aV music-roll operated' mechanical musical instrument, such as a player-piano or the like, a reciprocableV roll-supporting spindle having `a roll-supporting outer end and a switch-engaging inner end, an electric switch having an operating member adapted to be engaged by the innerl end of said spindle, and springv means normally tending to maintainvr the inner end of said spindle' in non-engaging position withy respect tol said switch-operating member, `the insertion of a music roll causing Athe inner end of said'- spindle tobea-ragainst said switchoperating memberv against-the action of said spring means to'close said switch 7; In a music-roll operated 'mechanical musical instrument, such as a player-piano or thel like, a reciprocable roll-supporting spindle having a roll-supporting outer end and 'af switch-engaging inner end, and an electric switch having an operating member adapted to be engagedY by the inner end of said spindle, in combination with means attached to said switch-operating member and slidably engaging the inner end of said spindle for actuating said switch-operating member to Open said vswitch upon vthe removal of said music roll. w

= 8. Ina music-,roll operatedymechanical musical instrument, such as a player-piano or the like, a reciprocable roll-supporting spindle having a roll-supporting outer end and a switch-engaging inner end, an electric switch harina,a an operating member adapted to be en; red by the inner end of said spindle, and means norn'ially tending to maintain the inne; end et said spindle in non-enpjap'ing` position with respect to said switch-operating member, in combination with means attached to said switch-operal infnv member and slidably engaging the inner end ol said spindle for actuating said switchoperating member to open said switch upon the removal oi' said music roll.

9. In a music-roll operated mechanical musical instrument, such as a player-piano or the like, a reciprocable roll-supporting spindle having a roll-supporting; outer end and a switch-engaging inner end, an electric switch having;v an operating' member adapted to be engaged bj; the inner end ot said spindle, and spring' means normally tending to maintain the inner end of said spindle in non-engaging position with respect to said switch-operating member, the insertion of a music roll causing,T the inner end of said spindle to bear against said switch-operating member against the action of said spring;` means to close said switch, in combination with means attached to said switch-operating member and slidably engaging the inner end of said spindle 'for actuating,y said switch-operating member to open said switch under the action of said spring; means upon the removal of said music roll.

10. In a music-roll operated mechanical musical instrument, such as a player-piano or the like, a reeiprocable roll-supporting' spindle, spring means for yielding'ly press ing' said spindle into roll-engaging' position, a switch provided with a switch-operating; member, and means associated with said switch-operating' member and said spindle for closing said switch upon the insertion ot a music roll and for opening' said switch upon the removal ot said music roll.

11. In a music-roll operated n'iechanical musical instrument, such as a player-piano or the like, a reciprocable roll-supporting spindle, spring' means for vieldingly pressing said spindle into roll-engaging position. a switch provided with a switchoperating` member', and means associated with the outer end of said switch-operating' member and the inner end ot said spindle for closing said switch against the action of said spring' upon the insertion ot a music roll and for opening said switch under the action ot said spring upon the removal of said music roll.

12. In a music-roll operated mechanical musical instrument, such as a player-piano or the like, a music well for containing' a music roll, a reciprocable roll-supporting' spindle extending into said music well,

spring,r means for yieldingly pressing said spindle into roll-engaging' position, a switch provided with a switch-operating member, an electric lamp within said music Welland controlled by said switch, and means associated with said switch-operating member and said spindle tor closing said switch upon the insertion ot a music roll and for opening' said switch upon the removal ot said music roll.

13. In a music-roll operated mechanical musical instrument, such as a player-piano or the like, a music well for containing' a music roll, a reciprocable roll-supporting spindle extending' vinto said music well, spring means for vieldingly pressing said spindle into roll-engaging' position, a switch provided with a switch-operating member, an electric lamp within said music well and controlled by said switch, and means associated with the outer end of said switchoperating member and the inner end of said spindle for closing` said switch against the action ot said spring upon the insertion ot a music roll and for opening said switch under the action of said spring upon the removal o1 said music roll.

14. In a music-roll operated mechanical musical instrument, such as a player-piano or the like, a reciprocable roll-supporting spindle. spring means tor yieldingly pressinc; said spindle into roll-engaging position, a switch provided with a switch-operating member, and means comprising' a connecting' member attached to the outer end etl said switch-operating member and having sliding' engagement with the inner end of said spindle for closing' said switch upon the insertion ot a music roll and for opening' said switch upon the removal of said music roll.

15. In a music-roll operated mechanical musical instrument, such as a player-piano or the like, a music well tor containing' a music roll, a reciprocable roll-supporting' spindle extending' into said music well. spring means Jfor yielding'lv pressing said spindle into roll-engaging position, a switch provided with a switchoperating member, an electric lamp within said music well and controlled by said switch, and means comprising; a connecting member attached to the outer end of said switch-operating' member and having' silding engagement with the inner end of said spindle for closing said switch upon the insertion oit a music roll and for opening said switch upon the removal ot said music roll.

In testimony, whereof, I have signed mv name lto this specification this 10th day oi'' rluly, 1924.

VINCENT CECI. 

